I volti della menzogna: gli indizi dell'inganno nei rapporti interpersonali

by Paul Ekman

诚实之所以具有普世价值，正是在于谎言是普世现象。谎言无处不在，成为生活中的潜在主线。人们每天都在说谎，从政坛精英到市井小民，从商业巨贾到谍海特工，谎言无处不在。你想知道人们如何说谎、为何说谎，说谎时有何表现吗？你想知道如何识破谎言吗？那么请翻开这本书，跟随保罗·埃克曼从观察人们的一举一动、一颦一笑开始。

热播美剧《别对我说谎》（Lie to Me，又译《千谎百计》）聘请埃克曼教授担任顾问，一经在黄金时段播出，即大受追捧，共3季48集。剧情大多根据真实案例改编，以说谎理论为核心，主角的经历也与埃克曼教授颇为相似。编剧塞缪尔·比姆花了将近一年的时间和埃克曼教授待在一起，并将他的研究成果融入这部剧中。

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Self Help, Communication, Business, Politics

314 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

American psychologist that pioneered the study of emotions' relationship to facial expressions.

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Ekman is without a doubt one of the top experts in the world on facial expressions in humans. His research is careful, painstaking, and intelligently done. He has honestly subtitled this book "Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace,Politics, and Marriage." It is not his fault that the book has been hyped and is advertised as being able to teach us unfailingly when someone is lying.

No book can teach anyone to be positive that someone else is telling the truth. No book can tell anyone proof-positive indicators of lying. And, Paul Ekman himself says that every one of the indicators of lying that he uncovered don't always indicate lying. That includes lie detector machines. All the machines and facial tics and conversational tics tell you that someone is nervous or anxious and deceit is not the only thing that makes people nervous. Moreover, some liars are so good that they show no indicators at all. They apparently don't have any consciences.

However, some of the time for some people, maybe even most people, the indicators will at least make you suspicious that they're lying. Ekman's careful descriptions of these indicators are very well worth reading about. I found it all very interesting.

I have but one quarrel with this work. In several places, he says that something has not yet been proven or shown, but he thinks that with more research it will be proven or shown. That is not a scientific argument. Who knows what more research will show? That is the sort of argument that Behaviorists used for decades. In my Intro to Psych class at Brown, my professor said that "If we knew every single stimulus that had impinged on someone from infancy on, we could predict every one of his actions throughout his life." I thought to myself then, "Suppose we knew every single stimulus and it proved that you couldn't predict behavior, that the stimuli alone that one is subjected to is not the sole predictor of behavior." Of course, Noam Chomsky demolished Behaviorism when he showed that every human being can utter new thoughts, not only those he or she had heard.

My only criticism

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hay muchas razones por las cuales la gente miente, dice Paul Ekman, y algunas son honorables, pero la más frecuente es escapar del castigo por haber infringido una regla. Ekman es un reconocido experto en lenguaje corporal que ha capacitado a la policía en estos complejos asuntos de los interrogatorios. Todos creíamos, ingenuamente, que el asunto se limitaba al cuento del poli bueno y del poli malo. Parece que no. Paul ha estudiado concienzudamente el asunto y descubrió la existencia de esas microexpresiones faciales que podrían delatar hasta al más zorro, así como las tretas más frecuentes que todo mentiroso que se precie sabrá poner en acción para evitar males mayores. Más allá de todo, si algo queda claro es que no hay una receta para saber si alguien miente o para estar completamente seguro de que no lo hace (lo digo por si alguien comienza a leer el libro con esa expectativa. Olvidadla. Ahora) El autor expone claramente las limitaciones de detectores de mentiras, indicadores faciales o lenguaje corporal (Esos involuntarios gestos físicos que, sin embargo, en mayor o menor medida, contradicen nuestras falsas declaraciones)

Aunque no me convierta en una buena detective, leer a un verdadero experto explayarse en el tema me sonó interesante. Si ese el humilde objetivo, creo que vale la pena echarle una mirada.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one should have been really interesting. It's written by one of the scientists whose work serves as the inspiration for "Lie to Me", yet you haven't really experienced boring until you read upwards of 40 pages describing minute facial expressions. Also, I was disappointed that there was really nothing in here I hadn't already seen presented in a more interesting and engaging way. Were this a documentary, it would have been awesome. As a book, I just wanted it to end.

[Özge · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Consider what life would be like if everyone could lie perfectly or if no one could lie at all...'
Amazing book gives us scientific research and clues about lying. It starts with universal emotions, leaking, concealing them and stalking clues. 'Why lies fail' topic is the best. If you are looking for book which is not give silly information about body expression and lying, this is it. Facial clues, microexpressions, types of deception, detecting deceit from words, voice, body and face are explained with examples and real life situations from history. You'll learn terms of lying like deception guilt, duping delight, fear of being caught, brokaw hazard, othello error.
Love it!!!

[Alina Butenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Доктор філософії, професор Пол Екман настільки довго й успішно вивчав психологію емоцій та природу брехні, що його дослідження надихнули американських кінопродюсерів на створення серіалу «Lie to Me». Власне прототипом головного героя і став сам відомий усьому світові психолог. Доктор Екман був науковим консультантом серіалу, детально аналізував і критикував кожен епізод, навчав акторів та знімальну групу мистецтву виявлення обману.

Пол Екман також є автором кількох наукових праць, одна з яких («Теорія брехні») перевидавалася англійською мовою кілька разів з 1985 до 2009 року.

На підставі 50-річних досліджень доктора Екмана 2019 року було засновано компанію Paul Ekman International, яка в багатьох країнах світу проводить семінари з емоційних навичок та методів виявлення брехні.

Цю унікальну книжку можна назвати енциклопедією брехні. Попри надскладну тему психології емоцій та їхніх проявів у людей будь-хто спроможний отримати загальні відомості про феномен брехні, про всі її ознаки (вербальні та невербальні), про те, як працюють над викриттям брехунів потужні відповідні державні установи у світі, якою може бути брехня в звичайному житті людини, та які є у світі методи та практики розкриття неправди.

Структура оповіді побудована дуже вдало, а серйозна наукова інформація подана зрозуміло, легко й цікаво на безлічі прикладах з історії та описі досліджень автора. Про те, наскільки ж тонкою, крихкою та водночас надпотужною та життєво небезпечною може бути брехня, читачеві наче розповідають самі учасники історичних подій різних часів і країн та учасники з реальної практики Пола Екмана.

На початку книжки дослідник подає власне визначення терміну брехні: це свідома дія, якою одна людина вводить в оману іншу, роблячи це навмисне, без попереднього повідомлення про свою мету й без чітко вираженого з боку жертви прохання не розкривати правди.

Також психолог вважає, що є дві основні форми брехні:

замовчування (приховування правди);
спотворення (повідомлення неправдивої інформації).
На підтвердження цієї тези Екман далі в книзі наводить безліч прикладів, які її ілюструють.

Окрім основних форм є також декілька різновидів брехні:

приховування справжньої причини емоції;
повідомлення правди як брехні;
напівправда;
виверт.
Далі йде розділ, присвячений методам, завдяки яким можна викрити неправду. Часто людський розум і почуття можуть погано з нами пожартувати. Саме тому нерідко навіть природжений брехун може потрапити в пастку власної психіки. Наприклад, від початку він може обрати невдалу лінію поведінки, недостатньо сфальсифікує емоції, відчуватиме страх викриття або його згризуть докори сумління. Усе перелічене може проявитися в міміці, голосі або рухах тіла, навіть якщо брехун ретельно намагається це приховати.

Окремий (і вельми пізнавальний) розділ присвячений способам визначення брехні за словами, голосом, рухами тіла та мімікою. Звісно, після опанування цього матеріалу ви не станете Келом Лайтманом (головний герой серіалу «Lie to Me», провідний у світі спеціаліст із визначення брехні), але на побутовому рівні для вас стане більш реальним ловити на гарячому людей, які намагаються вами маніпулювати за допомогою брехні. До речі, навичка викриття обману може стати в пригоді тим, хто, наприклад, набирає та оцінює працівників на підприємстві. У книзі є яскраві приклади роботи професійних «мисливців за головами», які змушені під час роботи вдаватися до брехні.

Найбільший розділ книжки присвячено детектору брехні. Пол Екман розвінчує, мабуть, усі розповсюджені міфи про цей пристрій, про його призначення, механізми роботи та галузі застосування.

Наукові свідоцтва з цієї теми доволі обмежені, тому автор детально пояснює:

хто саме використовує детектор брехні;
як працює детектор брехні;
чи дійсно він здатен фіксувати те, що людина бреше (насправді – ні);
що таке техніка контрольних питань та як вона працює;
і багато іншого цікавого й мало відомого пересічним громадянам, які не стикаються в житті з детекторами брехні.
Для ілюстрації всіх аспектів теми Екман наводить, як і зазвичай, реальні події. Наприклад, помилки слідства, коли після низки фактів розслідування та застосування до підозрюваних детектора брехні було визнано винними невинних людей.

Щодо використання пристрою для перевірки людей – у книзі також про це є цікаві докази та свідчення.

«Всі брешуть!» – казав головний герой ще одного відомого серіалу – доктор Хаус. І він мав рацію. Брехня супроводжує нас усюди й завжди. Подружжя брешуть одне одному, батьки брешіть дітям, а діти – батькам, начальники – підлеглим, і навпаки. Політики брешуть і поготів. Проте брехня є різною, її супроводжують різні емоції та ґрунтується вона на певній меті. Ми всі в певний час вдягаємо маски, намагаємося приховати емоції, зберегти якусь свою таємницю та навіть хочемо маніпулювати кимось. Усе це є природними діями людини, ми здатні контролювати почуття, хоч і не бездоганно. А якби не вміли, то були б усі на рівні тримісячної дитини, яка не може приховувати чи керувати емоціями.

Природа дала нам здатність брехати або говорити правду, помічати й зупиняти брехню або не зважати на неї. Ми маємо вибір. Ось що є головним. А те, що ми не можемо бачити наскрізь усіх навколо, робить нас напрочуд унікальними.

Вам сподобається, якщо: вам цікаво навчитися розпізнавати емоції людей задля розуміння їхньої природи та для розширення власних знань із приводу причин історичних подій.

Вам не сподобається, якщо: ви чекали докладної інструкції з розпізнавання обману в людей. Ця книжка не дає алгоритмів викриття неправди. Вона вчить викривати приховані емоції, але задля того, аби вчасно розпізнати брехню, а не маніпулювати іншими.

Головна причина прочитати: емоційна сфера людини – дуже цікавий та глибокий аспект психіки. Брехня є природним процесом, який може бути як корисним, так і смертоносним. Усе залежить від мети того, хто бреше. Чи того, хто хоче, щоби його обдурили.

https://mind.ua/publications/20207339...

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Referenced in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking and A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.

Unlike other reviewers I was happy to wade through pages of micro expressions which I found to be the most useful part of the book. A full chapter on the workings of polygraphs, however, was a different matter and I ended up skipping that altogether.

Read in research for WIP.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because the TV show Lie to Me is based on the work of Paul Ekman, the casual reader may expect something a bit more fun and glamorous. There is nothing wrong this text per se, but there are very few diagrams to illustrate his points. Instead, you should be ready for a rather dry, academic discussion of the non-verbals, psychology, and language behind lying. Some background in at least one of these areas would be an advantage, or the reader may become quickly bored. For reasons I could not ascertain, the facial map and his famous facial coding system have been strangely omitted, although my guess would be that many readers would be looking for exactly this information. Ever the scientist, Ekman rightly refers to a lot of academic studies for his evidence. Unfortunately the text is overly targeted at an American audience, with a bit too much reference to polygraphs (rarely used outside of the USA), and a heavy bias towards American cases in the application chapter, leaving international readers at a bit of a loss. My final verdict is that it is scientifcally accurate, but it needs a bit of work to make it more accessible to the casual reader.

[Gabrielam13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deși am început să o citesc cu destul de mult entuziasm, căci m-au fascinat mereu studiile lui Ekman și pentru că prima carte citită de el, "Emotions revealed", a fost destul de interesantă, am conștientizat treptat că soarta cărții de față nu avea să fie la fel.

Am simțit că în "Telling lies", datorită succesului pe care l-au avut cercetările sale, s-a străduit să sublinieze cât de dificil este să detectezi o minciună și cât de relative sunt semnele pe care le observi. Acestea nu indică niciodată că cineva minte, ci că cineva are o emoție, însă sursa acelei emoții nu implică în mod necesar o minciună, ci orice altă stare. Mai mult decât atât, de multe ori persoanele care mint nu trădează nimic, dacă nu trebuie să ascundă vreo emoție sau dacă sunt psihopați sau mincinoși înăscuți. De asemenea, semnele faciale nu sunt suficiente, ci trebuie luate în considerare și semnele corporale, vocea și cele provocate de sistemul nervos autonom. Și că toate aceste simptome sunt cu atât mai relative cu cât diferențele culturale și lingvistice sunt mai mari între persoana care minte și persoana care dorește să descopere adevărul.

O altă mare parte din carte a fost dedicată poligrafului sau, așa cum mai este cunoscut, detectorului de minciuni. Numele “detector de minciuni” este impropriu, ne spune Ekman, căci poligraful nu detectează minciuni, ci semne produse de sistemul nervos autonom, precum modificări ale pulsului, transpirația etc. Dar toate aceste simptome le pot avea și persoanele inocente supuse unui poligraf, dacă le este teamă că cei care îi testează sunt nedrepți și că nu îi vor credea. Sau că, dimpotrivă, cineva care cunoaște faptul că poligrafele sunt failibile, poate să nu simtă nicio emoție pe durata testului, sau poate fi antrenat să il păcăleacă, ori poate chiar apela la unele droguri.

În cele din urmă, deși îmi doream să învăț noi lucruri despre emoții și modul cum acestea pot fi depistate, am fost atenționată într-un mod foarte meticulos, insistent și, poate chiar disperat, ce muncă dificilă este aceasta, cât de mulți factori trebuie luați în considerare și cât de relativ este fiecare caz particular. Mi-a tăiat negreșit din elanul inițial, însă cred că ținta principală a acestei cărți sunt persoanele sus puse, precum cele din politică, armată, poliție, managerii de companii etc., a căror abuz al teoriilor sale pot produce consecințe devastatoare. Analizând puțin trebuie să admit că, chiar dacă nu a fost ceea ce mă așteptam, am învățat lucruri neașteptate care sunt în acord și cu un principiu de al meu: într-un sistem complex precum comportamentul uman, explicațiile simpliste sunt adesea înșelătoare.

[زينب · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've heard about this guy and his research on microexpressions from a different book. I didn't get a chance to read his book until I found it by chance in the library. The book as the title suggests is about lies. Here he discussed his research findings and the different clues to deceit that a liar might leak. I liked that he was very neutral. If one of his research findings is still preliminary and not replicated he says so. The things I got from this book are: 1) a huge list of clues to deceit (not sure if I will ever get to use them in my life) 2) most of us are no better than chance as lie detectors 3) it's really hard to lie unless you're naturally born liar (psychopaths..) 4) it's really hard to detect lies and you need hours of training to be an exper lie detector
I hated the poor editing of the book. There were lots of repetitions. I feel like half the current page count will be just fine.
I might update later with more details about methods to detect liars.

[naz · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are two things I can't tolerate:

1. When the author repeats the same points MANY times throughout MANY chapters -- The fluffy stuff that's squeezed in with every new concept

2. When the author teases you with just enough information to keep you entertained / interested, but to get anything useful out of it, you have to purchase their other work

Both apply to this book. Honestly, I couldn't get past chapter 6.

You'll get more out of reading the first four chapters + appendix and invest in his online micro-expression training course.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book paired with "How to Help Your Spouse Heal From Your Affair: A Compact Manual for the Unfaithful" was just what I needed after discovering my husband's affair. I proudly displayed this on my nightstand for him to see. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the book and would recommend to others.

[Francesco Baudassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

.. ed ecco l'illusione , - grazie a un libro - , .. di smascherare , quasi con facilità , .. .. chi ci mente , .. .. mentre conversa .. con noi o altri . .. .. .. facendo caso alla sua .. voce , tono , pause .. frasi , parole , concitazione .. direzione degli sguardi, gesti .. .. e alro .. .. ( raramente la verità è certa ) .. .. ..

[Rūta Putnikienė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tai yra puikių puikiausia knyga apie melavimą ir melų gaudymą, parašyta mokslininko Paul Ekman, kurio atradimų pagrindu kurtas ir serialas “Lie to me”. Parašyta 1985, bet nelabai kas jo atradimus yra nurungęs. Lengvai skaitosi.

[Sagar Acharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple weeks ago I had an interview. Before it, we had to fill a sheet in which I filled in my salary expectations and notice period expectations. The interviewer looked at it and immediately her brows came close to each other. She asked me a few questions, and I answered them. It was as if she had already decided to reject the application. I was reading her face and I found so many clues in her behavior, body language, tone and the questions she was asking me. I faced rejection but it was one of the best interviews. For the 1st time, I thought that I could correctly interpret the situation outside of making meaning out of words spoken. I had understood ahead of time that it was done, the rest was a nice study opportunity.

Telling Lies was a no brainer read for me due to Paul Ekman's absolutely crucial work in psychology. He shows that how an emotion surfaces on facial expressions, hand movements, tones, and how a lie catcher can read them. In the later part he shows some studies of polygraph and ethical issues on when to lie, when to catch a lie and when should a professional lie catcher be cautious. In the Appendix he gives an amazing summary of what to look for in case of each emotion, and 38 questions which a lie catcher should consider before confirming their opinion.

Lying is defined as concealing or falsification of information or emotion known by the lying person to be true. Micro-expressions, manipulators, illustrators, voice pitch and intensity were some of the major indicators that Paul focused on. He found that micro-expressions were common across all cultures throughout the world.

He elaborated on Othello's error and Brokaw Hazard, 2 mistakes which lie catchers can make. Duping delight, detection apprehension and deception guilt were the 3 important emotions that a lying subject would feel during it and understand them was elaborated.

In the chapter on polygraph, he explained a particularly important case which remains with me. In case of base rate of lying being low, a polygraph test will make many more disbelieving the truth mistakes than believing a lie ones and it'll be more unfair for everyone. Paul discussed many case studies in college campuses, on criminal field and some hybrid ones with data.

Lastly, he discussed some cases in politics and where it would've been justified to lie.

Loved the book, specific science details was what I've been wanting to read since a long time.

[Kelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do love to go sit at the bookstore downtown during lunch, grabbing a bite at Lizard's. Whenever I step inside, I browse and then feel compelled to buy something. And every time I've made such an impulse purchase, I've been disappointed! Support your local indie, though, seems to be an affair with more misses than hits. And I'm wondering what's up with that. The last two books I bought at B&N on impulse were fine books. I think it is the indy bookstore's less than desirable stock. Not sure.

At any rate, contrary to the sales pitch on the book's back cover, Telling Lies does not seem to be made of the kind of stuff that could ever lead to an exciting television series. Its subtitle, "Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage," suggested that I might immediately be catapulted into scintillating and eye-opening analyses of advertising and commercial lies, why they succeed and fail, and perhaps how to spot a lie. For example, perhaps they could have discussed the infamous Coke Zero blog scam would have been a decent example of something recent, right out of the dumb criminals playbook. Or maybe talk about famous commercial lies. Not a chance.

So, failing that, you'd think I'd bee exposed to discussions of famous political lies. Well, there is some of that -- Nixon, John Dean, and a couple of obscure political incidents and figures. But nothing especially compelling, though the story about John Dean was interesting enough. Still, there was no discussion of Clinton -- let alone Bush. Why?

Basically, the message of this book is: It's rilly rilly rilly hard to tell if someone is lying. It all depends on circumstances, context, chance -- which is a fine thesis. Really, it is. But seriously? There is no "wealth of detailed, practical information about lying and lie detection" -- unless variation on the message, "it's complicated," constitute a "wealth" of anything.

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again this book is a bit of a slog because the author's writing is pedantic and doesn't say a lot. I'm sure he means well and I'm glad he takes the time to think through the implications of his findings (and opinions), but I have a hard time reading what I've already easily inferred from the text, and many of the ideas are repeated.

Unlike Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life, this book is more philosophy than psychology. When Ekman wrote this, there wasn't a lot of scientific support for facial expressions, tone of voice, or a lie detector to detect deception. This means his main point is, "there isn't a sure way to detect deception from any of these methods", and writing a whole book about how each method isn't foolproof can be a bit wearing. In addition, the few positive results he gets are contained in the advice in Spy the Lie: Three Former CIA Officers Reveal Their Secrets to Uncloaking Deception. My advice: read that book instead.

The last two or three chapters are actually updates to the book, and they do add valuable information (and increase my rating from 2 to 3). The updates are significant enough that the book probably needs to be rewritten, and it could be made much shorter by a good editor while they're at it.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A maelstrom of original and ground-breaking information never seen before it was published some 30 years ago; by the man who "Lie to Me" was based upon. The first three chapters can be dry and redundant but they lay the foundation for what a lie is and what types there are. Chapter 4 gets into the meat of identification and can leave you exhausted after just a few pages; the 3 pages that describe a chosen 18 types of smiles, for example. And the long chapter on polygraphs (which I thought I'd end up merely flipping through) wound up being the most interesting section of the book, with much of it still relevant for today. The real-life historical examples (Hitler/Chamberlain, Watergate figures, murderers, and philanderers)used throughout work much better than the lies and liars he provides from literature (Updike, Shakespeare, and others). A later edition with actual photos of micro-expressions instead of the sparse pencil drawings contained in this edition will prove much more useful. A MUST-HAVE on the shelf of any sideline-psychologist.

[Corey Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not like “beach reading” books. They tend to be too light (yes, I know that is the point) and empty for me. Nothing to remember. So I read this book on a beach weekend in Florida. There was a television show based on this Ekman and his science with my husband and I enjoyed. I kept reading passages from the book to my husband as he tried to read his own book (yes, the interruptions were an annoyance) which he also appreciated hearing as it inspired his programmer logic mind. Ekman’s company deals with cases that are easy to get caught up in. The science of telling and catching lies in others is fascinating. There is a lot that one can learn in reading facial expressions, body language, and “micro expressions”. Reminder in the book and in live is that there area also other, non-criminal or evil intent reasons that one has that do not guaranteed signs of discretion. This is not an exact science but does open up one’s mind to alternatives in motive and behavior. It is a way to start thinking in a more open manner to possibilities.

[Emi Yoshida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Professor Ekman uses a vast and creative range of examples in this nevertheless dry guide to liar catching - from the Pope's meeting with Poland's General Jaruzelski, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat studying Mussolini's facial dexterity, Hitler's misleading Chamberlain, Woody Allen, courtroom figures from televised legal cases in the news, Desdemona's deceit in Shakespeare's Othello, Ruth the philandering wife in John Updike's Marry Me, to bona fide scientific research such as The Control Question Technique and various case studies. I'm embarrassed to admit to not having retained a bit of knowledge from this book. It was super difficult for me to even ascertain subtle differences between the photographed facial expressions provided. This book sat on my night stand for literally months; mostly I appreciate its sleep-inducing properties.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, to start off with, this book is a psychology book on how lies are physiologically expressed. Reading this book will give you an understanding on how emotions leak through when people attempt to hide them. It will not suddenly allow you to read the emotions of all the people all around you, nor will it magically turn you into a lead character of the show Lie to Me.

That said, this book is one of the foundation books on the topic. If you're not looking for some snake oil, and are generally interested in the topic of lying, this book comes highly recommended.

[Benjamin Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the subject matter was interesting, the book itself was too repetitive, and the material didn't have enough study to back it up. The other does acknowledge that fact, though. Also, I expected the book to be more prescriptive: I thought literally be better able to tell when someone is lying or hiding information after reading this book, but I don't think that's the case. It was not a bad book, but it could have been much better.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book is a little misleading, as it is really about the psychology of lying, the physiological reactions that occur when someone is being deceptive, and an analysis of the profession of lie catchers (polygraph examiners, investigators, interrogators, etc.) and their efficacy. Interesting read from an intellectual curiosity standpoint, but I wouldn't put it on a list must reads.

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was brilliant!! I especially appreciated the way that Ekman points out howm many reasons that you can't use this information at face value. Everything must be taken in context. I felt that the information was very credible because of this. I learned so much from reading this book.

[Anastasia Parna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Цікава книга, де викладено багато повчальних історій та класних досліджень. Хоча деколи було багато однакової інформації викладено, але різними словами. 4, 5 та 12 розділи були для мене особливо цікавими.

[Cherene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really interesting as it explored clues to deceit and the psychology involved in telling lies. I loved reading about the author's research experiments about lying.

[Sam Zavala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viene bien explicado,con ejemplos y sirve para tener una noción de las expresiones faciales

[Leib Mitchell]

This book takes a great many words to say very little. Or, what feels like very little. (Maybe since I live in a low trust society as of this writing, these things are very obvious.)

Even 91 pages into the book, the author has only gone over three case studies (and not in any great detail). The first, the study of a woman who tried to lie to get out of a mental hospital in order to kill herself and the second of some nursing students who lied about watching some gory videos. The third was about a women who was subconsciously giving an interviewer the finger. Even speaking as someone who is on the lower end of the EQ distrubtion, I don't think that much of what was said here is something that has not been figured out by a person of average intelligence who has lived through his 20s. (For example, p. 92, when people are lying they are likely to "uh uh uh" and "ah ah ah." His description of this blindingly obvious fact went on for 3 paragraphs.)

He quotes Sigumd Freud (p. 88-89). In case you didn't think anyone paid attention to him anymore, there is at least one working psychologist who still pays attention to him.

What I just really don't get is: If there is "no clue to deceit that is reliable for all human beings" (p. 97), then what is the point of any of this science? How well does it work? Can we get some quantitative idea of the value of this?

"Lies in Public Life" was about 25 pages long-- even though that could have been much of the whole book and an abundance of case studies. It's interesting that he made an evaluation of who could have been telling the truth in the Hill/ Thomas scandal on the strength of nothing other than their testimony (when he mentioned John Dean as an example-- p. 95-- and stated that "No clue to deceit is reliable for all human beings"-- p. 97). It's also interesting that Ekman passes over tons of cases where public figures *really were* known to lie (Clinton/ Lewinsky. OJ Simpson.)--and the book *was* updated in 2009.

He drones on for 50 pages in the chapter on polygraph testing about the fact that it was unreliable because (1) the number of studies (as of the time of the publication) and (2) the nature of the technique does not lend it well to setting up controlled experiments. That could have been a 700 word article in the New York times. Instead, it got stretched out to a 50 page chapter.

This book could have been *much* better with many more example of lies that a person encounters in real life and then principles to illustrate them after the fact (rather than the way that it was done, with lots of general statements and then a few examples after the fact).

It's just barely worth a second hand purchase price.

[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Selon Wikipédia, "Paul Ekman, né le 15 février 1934, est un psychologue américain. Il fut l'un des pionniers dans l'étude des émotions dans leurs relations aux expressions faciales."

D’un côté, Je Sais Que Vous Mentez!: L'art De Détecter Ceux Qui Vous Trompent est destiné à un large public, de l’autre ce livre est ecrit avec beaucoup plus d'attention aux details et aux nuances que les best-sellers typiques sur le langage corporel.

De plus, la préoccupation principale du livre est avec le mensonge et la possibilité de le detecter en analisant les expressions faciales (le livre ne traite pas ni du langage corporel en général ni de l’ensemble de son registre d'interpretation).


7 expressions faciales universelles des émotions selon le Dr Paul Ekman:
joie, tristesse, mépris, peur, dégoût, colère, surprise (Crédit image: Icerko Lýdia, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

Pourquoi et comment mentons-nous?
Chaque mensonge est-il toujours déplorable, ou parfois nécessaire et bénéfique ?
Peut-on toujours détecter le mensonge ?
Une formation basée sur l’analyse des expressions faciales peut-elle améliorer la capacité à distinguer le mensonge ?
Les menteurs virtuoses, dotés d’un talent exceptionnel pour mentir, existent-ils ?
Et les maladroits qui ne peuvent jamais duper personne, existent-ils aussi ?
Certaines professions permettent-elles à ceux qui les exercent de mieux détecter le mensonge, même avant d’avoir suivi la formation de Paul Ekman ?
(Oui — mais contrairement aux attentes, il ne s’agit pas des psychologues, psychiatres ou juges, mais des agents de sécurité.)

Les lecteurs trouveront les réponses à toutes ces questions — et bien plus encore — illustrées par de nombreuses anecdotes historiques et politiques, et fondées sur des recherches scientifiques menées pendant des dizaines d’années par Paul Ekman.

J’ai écouté le livre audio, traduit en français (un PDF contenant des illustrations et des tableaux est fourni avec le livre audio).

[Cheryl]

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain's Lisa Feldman Barrett would have a few problems with this, at least the beginning. Ekman definitely seems to be more of an essentialist than a constructivist, and also seems to be willing to trust people's memories more than he should.

That being said, I am only at the beginning and there are couple of people I have to interact with that I really want some help deciding whether I can trust, so I'll keep reading.
---
Ok done. Carefully skimmed, esp. the last few chapters that are supposed to be updates given modern discoveries in neuroscience. Could not find anything to help me in my quest.

Ekman is definitely an essentialist, and I believe it influences his interpretations of research and studies. What he measures is so difficult to design studies for, I am skeptical... even more so when reading some of his statements.

"Suspicious people should pay more attention to the voice and body than they do. The voice, like the face, is tied to the areas of the brain involved in emotion." Ok, the first part is acceptable, just so long as the "lie-catcher" understands the limitations of even those clues. But there are no 'essential' "areas of the brain."

He does say that "*There is no sign of deceit itself* - no gesture, facial expression, or muscle twitch that in and of itself means that a person is lying. There are only clues that the person is poorly prepared and clues of emotions that don't fit the person's line. These are what provide leakage or deception clues."

Not recommended.
January 2026

[Alex Hernández · Rating 2 out of 5]

No es mucho lo que aprendí. No lo digo como pedante sábelo todo, sino por la sugerencia de que pudo haber sido un libro mucho más corto sin perder la esencia de lo que Ekman quería contarnos en este título.

Me atrevo a decir que, por lo reiterativo que es, pudiera haber prescindido de los capítulos 6 al 10 y no habría presentado ningún problema. Ésto porque la historia de EEUU no es algo que llame especialmente mi atención.

Este libro me hace pensar en que pareciera que los libros publicados como "ciencia pop" me resultan intolerables por la prosa irrespetuosa a la inteligencia de los lectores, como si éstos fueran un montón de dummies desmemoriados. Considero innecesario (paja total) reiterar en todos los capítulos los conceptos propuestos por el autor, y avisar todo el tiempo que "en el próximo capítulo" se tratará equis tema, o que cualquier cosa fue ya explicada en el capítulo 3 bajo el subtítulo de equis cosa y en la página 27. No me quieres decir de una vez que fue en el tercer párrafo y a mitad del renglón 4?

Simplemente, este tipo de prosa me convierten en un martirio la lectura que esté realizando. Y es mucho peor cuando es una lectura que tengo que realizar. No por mis clases, sino porque todo mundo las nombra como lecturas imprescindibles.

Yo no recomendaría la lectura de este libro. Y si lo tuviera que hacer, recomendaría complementar con otras lecturas relacionadas, y si me cayera muy bien la persona (jajaja) le diría cuáles capítulos leer y de cuáles pasar de largo, a menos que le interese o sea olvidadizo.